From 2002 through 2004, I worked for a newspaper in Boulder, Colorado. During that time, I wrote many features for the paper, including a “Website of the Week” column. You see, kids, back in those Wild West days of the internet, we did not have Twitter, YouTube, Netflix or Meme generators to keep us informed about up-and-coming trends. So, we had to rely on the resources that were available to us, which included newspapers.

Yes, that is right. Sometimes, people would look to print publications to discover what was happening online. Crazy, isn’t it?

Here is an excerpt from one such piece:

This week, fine folks, we give to you The Lonely Island. TLI is made up of three filmmakers, although it seems more accurate to say film students, based in Los Angeles, CA. As listed on the site, they are Jorm! Kiv! and Ardy! Their short but (sometimes literally) explosive clips are hit or miss, but more often a hit than not.

For those of you are in their 30s and up or are Boulder natives, think back to when Trey Parker and Matt Stone got their start in Colorado. Remember watching their first clip that eventually became a cult classic on the internet, “The Spirit of Christmas.” Or, remember packing into the Flatiron Theater to watch the hilarious but under-appreciated and eventually renamed “Alferd Packer: The Musical.” You knew these guys were going to make it and it felt good to know them before the Comedy Central debut of “South Park.”

These three exclamation-punctuated folks could enjoy that kind of success. Thanks to the Internet, such dry wit as theirs can be appreciated from your home, regardless of where the filmmakers call home. Best clip: “Nintendo.” It’ll have you laughing out loud and quoting lines like, “I’m glad I wore these pants” and “That was awkward” until the people around you tell you to stop and that you’re being annoying.

Certainly, this is one of those clips I tend to brag about like a bonafide hipster and say that I liked them before they were cool. A mere two years into their existence and two years before joining Saturday Night Live, I had the pleasure of enjoying the videos made by The Lonely Island and sharing them with my friends.

Since those days, the guys have been on a boat, just had sex and did everything like a boss. With SNL in the rear-view mirror and Brooklyn Nine-Nine coming into its own, The Lonely Island gang is teaming up with one of the biggest comedic movie producers around, Judd Apatow, to make a musical comedy movie.

According to Variety, Universal Pictures “has acquired a pitch from the trio, which will star in and produce the comedy set in the world of music. Universal-based Judd Apatow is also producing… Schaffer and Taccone will co-direct the movie. Universal’s Erik Baiers will oversee the project for the studio.”

The Lonely Island made their feature film debut with 2007’s “Hot Rod,” which received lukewarm reviews. With Apatow at the helm and a more experienced and mature comedy group, this new, untitled movie should have a higher probability for success.